Global environmental harm, which takes the form of transboundary ecological exploitation and destruction, has existed for centuries. However, new pathways of actual and potential forms of environmental harm, such as climate change, have recently provoked criminologists to ask a series of complex questions about global governance priorities, state/corporate responsibility for transgovernmental environmental harm, and the nature and dynamics of global environmental justice.

Rob White's edited collection of essays on global environmental crime reflects this trend. In Global Environmental Harm: Criminological Perspectives, White has brought together authors from various parts of the world to address a range of cutting-edge issues about global environmental harm. The book is divided into three parts. In the first, entitled ‘Global Problems’, the authors provide a conceptual, analytical overview of the nature of global environmental harm. White's chapter on ecoglobal criminology, which is a criminological approach that is informed by worldwide ecological considerations, serves as the starting point for the section. White carefully lays the foundation for the book by providing a deeply insightful overview of ecoglobal criminology, and some of the central issues and challenges tied to the study of global environmental harm. Also included in this section of the book is a profoundly important, carefully researched chapter on climate change by Lynch and Stretesky. Given that climate change is the most pressing global environmental problem, this chapter alone makes the book indispensable for criminology, particularly since the discipline has been slow to recognize climate change as a relevant area of study. Lynch and Stretesky provide a compelling discussion of the interconnection between global warming and various forms of crime and environmental harm.

The second section of the book, ‘Specific Issues’, is devoted to a detailed discussion of various global environmental problems, ranging from issues such as the illegal reptile trade in South Africa to the pollution practices of multinational corporations in China. Included in this section is a chapter by Smandych and Kueneman, which provides a deeply critical analysis of the Alberta tar sands project. They skilfully outline the enormous level of environmental harm created by this form of oil extraction. Since the project is scheduled to expand, and Canada is now the largest foreign supplier of oil to the USA, this is a valuable chapter that should be read by North American students in particular. The graphic photos of illegal collections of wild reptiles in the chapter by Herbig also enhance this section. These images often overpower the author's words and serve to foster a visual literacy about the illegal trade in animals.

The third and final section of the book, ‘Alternative Visions’, offers chapters that address the perception, investigation and analysis of global environmental harm. The title of this section is a bit confusing as the reader may assume, at the fore, that the chapters will discuss means to reduce global environmental harm. This is not the case. In fact, a shortcoming of the book is that it provides very few ideas about how to turn the world in a different direction. Several of the chapters devote a couple of pages to legal and conceptual perspectives on accountability and responsibility, but overall the reader is left without much direction or ‘hope-based’ learning. For example, an entire chapter on the precautionary principle and how precautionary norms might be able to create expectations for enlarging obligations of responsibility towards all nations and future generations would have made the book more comprehensive. That said, the final section does include many thought-provoking chapters. Brisbane's chapter, by way of example, raises very interesting questions about why ecologically benign acts such as ‘dumpster diving’ are criminalized. Nigel South, in turn, skilfully illuminates some of the key problems and issues surrounding global environmental crime in our postmodern world. In his discussion of environmental justice, South takes care to include some of the gender-differentiated concerns of women, which are often overlooked in criminology.

In short, I am grateful to Rob White for producing a book that does justice to the pressing issue of global environmental harm. It is rich in detail, deeply insightful and sensitive to the complexity of transboundary harm. White reiterates that the need to protect this fragile plant and to foster human fellowship is as urgent as ever.